The canopy of trees
overhead was hidden by the crusted earth under which he took cover.
Brushing off the layer of dirt so he could see, Ronon Dex took
inventory and appraised his surroundings. Nothing had been disturbed
nor had anyone had passed even close. By the sun's position, he had
been at his current location for no more than an hour.

Within the next moment the
distinctive sound of a Wraith dart filled the air at the same time he
could hear the foot soldiers thrashing at the brush in their way as
they clamored over the wooded terrain. It took only seconds for Ronon
to get on his feet, using the route he'd scouted when first coming on
planet through the Ring of the Ancestors. The woven branches overhead
gave him cover from the ship though not from the sensor which
monitored his presence and movements.

The light shimmered, the
scene rippling away, morphing into the reflection Ronon so often had,
where he was back on Sateda, home, sitting at the table with his wife
opposite him, steaming food misting her features. Again, he willed
the mist to clear. In that instant all became a slow flowing dream,
and the fear buried deep inside his mind that he would awaken and
lose the brief season of memory, faded. Her body took shape and he
saw longer hair, more chestnut in hue, swaying slightly across the
fitted top. Her skin tone was darker, akin to his own. Another ripple
brought a candle lit room into a sharper clarity.

There was confusion,
though not just at the realization that it was Teyla sitting across
from him, but more to the point, that he felt what his waking self
always denied. He wanted her; in his arms, her body entwined with his
own, until they were suddenly in a universe made of skin and breath
and hair.

Ronon opened his eyes,
lying perfectly still, replaying the dream's last visage, letting the
need fill him. Perhaps it was simply that Atlantis slept as the wee
hours passed. Life in the light, on missions barred entrance to his
desire to which the quiet nights were open.

Rising, he emerged from
his room intent on going to Teyla. Pushing back the intrusive
thoughts which would dissuade his course, he quickened his pace.
Turning the last corner, he was surprised by her very presence, as
Teyla, still in a flowing light blue sleeping gown, padded toward
him, bare feet giving her easier movement.

"Teyla?" Ronon
asked, sensing something was amiss.

As if suddenly becoming
aware of him, she stopped. "Ronon?"

Silence filled the void
between them.

"What...?" he
began.

"I was just..."
she said simultaneously. Bringing her hand to her mouth did not hide
the smile, her eyes dancing.

His lips turning up,
parting as his grin turned into impish laughter. "I had a..."
his words trailing off as she finished his sentence.

"Dream. As did I."
Slowly Teyla reached out to him until their fingers touched and they
quietly walked back to her quarters, hand in hand, disappearing
behind the door as it slid closed.

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